Plant Responses to Internal and External Signals

Plant Responses to Internal and External Signals 0 31

Overview: The Race to Live Young seedlings must outcompete their neighbors in the race for resources in order to survive Unlike animals, which respond through movement, plants must respond to environmental challenges by altering their growth and development

Figure 31.1

Concept 31.1: Plant hormones help coordinate growth, development, and responses to stimuli Plant hormones are chemical signals that modify or control one or more specific physiological processes within a plant

Plant hormones are produced in very low concentration, but a minute amount can greatly affect growth and development of a plant organ Most aspects of plant growth and development are under hormonal control

The Discovery of Plant Hormones Any response resulting in curvature of organs toward or away from a stimulus is called a tropism In the late 1800s, Charles Darwin and his son Francis conducted experiments on phototropism, a plant’s response to light They observed that a grass seedling could bend toward light only if the tip of the coleoptile was present

They postulated that a signal was transmitted from the tip to the elongating region Video: Phototropism

Figure 31.2 Results Shaded side Control Light Boysen-Jensen Illuminated side Light Darwin and Darwin Mica (impermeable) Gelatin (permeable) Light Opaque shield over curvature Trans- parent cap Opaque cap Tip removed

Figure 31.2a Shaded side Control Light Illuminated side

Figure 31.2b Darwin and Darwin: Phototropism occurs only when the tip is illuminated. Light Opaque shield over curvature Trans- parent cap Opaque cap Tip removed

Figure 31.2c Boysen-Jensen: Phototropism occurs when the tip is separated by a permeable barrier but not an impermeable barrier. Light Mica (impermeable) Gelatin (permeable)

In 1913, Peter Boysen-Jensen demonstrated that the signal was a mobile chemical substance

In 1926, Frits Went extracted the chemical messenger for phototropism, auxin, by modifying earlier experiments

Figure 31.3 Results Excised tip on agar cube Growth-promoting chemical diffuses into agar cube Control (agar cube lacking chemical) Offset cubes Control

A Survey of Plant Hormones The major classes of plant hormones include Auxin Cytokinins Gibberellins Brassinosteroids Abscisic acid Ethylene

Table 31.1

Auxin The term auxin refers to any chemical that promotes elongation of coleoptiles Indoleacetic acid (IAA) is a common auxin in plants; in this lecture the term auxin refers specifically to IAA Auxin is produced in shoot tips and is transported down the stem Auxin transporter proteins move the hormone from the basal end of one cell into the apical end of the neighboring cell

Figure 31.4 Results Cell 1 100 m Cell 2 Epidermis Cortex Phloem 25 m Xylem Basal end of cell Pith

Figure 31.4a 100 m Epidermis Cortex Phloem Xylem Pith

Figure 31.4b Cell 1 Cell 2 25 m Basal end of cell

The role of auxin in cell elongation: Polar transport of auxin stimulates proton pumps in the plasma membrane According to the acid growth hypothesis, the proton pumps lower the pH in the cell wall, activating expansins, enzymes that loosen the wall’s fabric With the cellulose loosened, the cell can elongate

Figure 31.5 1 2 3 5 4 Cell wall-loosening enzymes cleave cross-linking polysaccharides. CELL WALL Low pH activates expansins. H2O Cell wall Plasma membrane H Acidity increases. H H H H H H H Proton pump activity increases. Nucleus Cytoplasm Vacuole Plasma membrane ATP Sliding cellulose microfibrils allow cell to elongate. H CYTOPLASM

Figure 31.5a 2 3 1 4 Cell wall-loosening enzymes cleave cross-linking polysaccharides. CELL WALL Low pH activates expansins. H Acidity increases. H H H H H H H Proton pump activity increases. Plasma membrane ATP H CYTOPLASM

Figure 31.5b 5 H2O Cell wall Plasma membrane Nucleus Cytoplasm Vacuole Sliding cellulose microfibrils allow cell to elongate.

Auxin also alters gene expression and stimulates a sustained growth response

Auxin’s role in plant development: Polar transport of auxin controls the spatial organization of the developing plant Reduced auxin flow from the shoot of a branch stimulates growth in lower branches Auxin transport plays a role in phyllotaxy, the arrangement of leaves on the stem

Practical uses for auxins The auxin indolbutyric acid (IBA) stimulates adventitious roots and is used in vegetative propagation of plants by cuttings An overdose of synthetic auxins can kill plants For example 2,4-D is used as an herbicide on eudicots Tomato growers spray their plants with synthetic auxins to stimulate fruit growth

Cytokinins Cytokinins are so named because they stimulate cytokinesis (cell division)

Control of cell division and differentiation: Cytokinins work together with auxin to control cell division and differentiation Cytokinins are produced in actively growing tissues such as roots, embryos, and fruits

Anti-aging effects: Cytokinins slow the aging of some plant organs by inhibiting protein breakdown, stimulating RNA and protein synthesis, and mobilizing nutrients from surrounding tissues

Gibberellins Gibberellins (GAs) have a variety of effects, such as stem elongation, fruit growth, and seed germination

Stem elongation: Gibberellins stimulate stem and leaf growth by enhancing cell elongation and cell division Gibberellins are produced in young roots and leaves They can induce bolting, rabid growth of the floral stalk

Figure 31.6 Grapes from control vine (left) and gibberellin- treated vine (right) (a) Rosette form (left) and gibberellin-induced bolting (right)

Figure 31.6a (a) Rosette form (left) and gibberellin-induced bolting (right)

Figure 31.6b Grapes from control vine (left) and gibberellin- treated vine (right)

Fruit growth: In many plants, both auxin and gibberellins must be present for fruit to develop Gibberellins are used in spraying of Thompson seedless grapes

Germination: After water is imbibed, release of gibberellins from the embryo signals seeds to germinate

Figure 31.7 Aleurone Endosperm -amylase Sugar GA GA Water Radicle Scutellum (cotyledon)

Brassinosteroids Brassinosteroids are chemically similar to cholesterol and the sex hormones of animals They induce cell elongation and division in stem segments and seedlings They slow leaf abscission (leaf drop) and promote xylem differentiation

Abscisic Acid Abscisic acid (ABA) slows growth Two of the many effects of ABA include Seed dormancy Drought tolerance

Seed dormancy ensures that the seed will germinate only in optimal conditions In some seeds, dormancy is broken when ABA is removed by heavy rain, light, or prolonged cold Precocious (early) germination can be caused by inactive or low levels of ABA

Figure 31.8 Red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) seeds Coleoptile Maize mutant

Figure 31.8a Red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) seeds

Figure 31.8b Coleoptile Maize mutant

Drought tolerance: ABA is the primary internal signal that enables plants to withstand drought ABA accumulation causes stomata to close rapidly

Ethylene Plants produce ethylene in response to stresses such as drought, flooding, mechanical pressure, injury, and infection The effects of ethylene include response to mechanical stress, senescence, leaf abscission, and fruit ripening

The triple response to mechanical stress: Ethylene induces the triple response, which allows a growing shoot to avoid obstacles The triple response consists of a slowing of stem elongation, a thickening of the stem, and horizontal growth

Ethylene-insensitive mutants fail to undergo the triple response after exposure to ethylene Some ethylene-overproducing mutants undergo the triple response even in air but are returned to normal growth when treated with ethylene synthesis inhibitors Other mutants are not responsive to inhibitors of ethylene synthesis

Figure 31.9 ein mutant ctr mutant (b) ctr mutant (a) ein mutant

Figure 31.9a ein mutant (a) ein mutant

Plant Responses to Internal and External Signals